The first week at MSSW was eventful. Welcome of the freshers by second year students , teachers and Director. Prof K.N.George (KNG) emphasised the importance of punctuality,and Other standards of behaviour. He stressed on America more than once. The term School of Social Work was borrowed from the US .
A great new experience at the campus was the free interaction between the men and women students.
In the class room, students sat as a group ; there was no separate seating arrangement for men and women as in the other colleges where I studied. But the number of female students was far less than the number of boys. So there was serious competition among the boys to attract the attention of the limited number of girls. There was a feeling of inferiority among those who failed to catch the eyes of the girls. But then not all boys and girls were interested in these extr-curricular activities. KNG liked free mixing of boys and girls , and also " dating " as he himself loved one of his MSSW students and finally married her. My classmate C.K.Sampath was his favourite as he used to give LIFT to all obliging girls. Neighbours in the conservative Egmore neighbourhood Sait Colony were not used to the free movement of boys and girls, and hence gave some unpleasant "titles" to MSSW which was a recent neighbour in the residential locality. Then social attitudes fifty years ago could be imagined ,that too in Madras (as it was known then ).
Observation visits to social welfare institutions, writing reports, and Group Conferences were new academic experiences. Our Fieldwork Co-ordinator Rachael Thangavelu was a wonderful facilitator and a motivator. She had a pleasant face and always spoke encouragingly.
Theory classes were generally boring except the sessions by M .T. Paul and his wife Radha Paul. The former taught Psychology with a high sense of humour and the examples were those .which the young students would love to hear. Radha Paul was charming and taught Social Case Work with ease. They fell in love at MSSW and got married despite opposition from Radha Iyer's family. The Pauls were the best teachers. KNG taught Social Research . He seldom taught Research Methodology in a way that the students could understand.But his classes were most lively and all his examples were American. He was and is still a great admirer of Uncle Sam. When I became his professional colleague after some years, I used to hear his critics and admirers referring to him as CIA (Central Intelligence Agency ) Agent.
A great new experience at the campus was the free interaction between the men and women students.
In the class room, students sat as a group ; there was no separate seating arrangement for men and women as in the other colleges where I studied. But the number of female students was far less than the number of boys. So there was serious competition among the boys to attract the attention of the limited number of girls. There was a feeling of inferiority among those who failed to catch the eyes of the girls. But then not all boys and girls were interested in these extr-curricular activities. KNG liked free mixing of boys and girls , and also " dating " as he himself loved one of his MSSW students and finally married her. My classmate C.K.Sampath was his favourite as he used to give LIFT to all obliging girls. Neighbours in the conservative Egmore neighbourhood Sait Colony were not used to the free movement of boys and girls, and hence gave some unpleasant "titles" to MSSW which was a recent neighbour in the residential locality. Then social attitudes fifty years ago could be imagined ,that too in Madras (as it was known then ).
Observation visits to social welfare institutions, writing reports, and Group Conferences were new academic experiences. Our Fieldwork Co-ordinator Rachael Thangavelu was a wonderful facilitator and a motivator. She had a pleasant face and always spoke encouragingly.
Theory classes were generally boring except the sessions by M .T. Paul and his wife Radha Paul. The former taught Psychology with a high sense of humour and the examples were those .which the young students would love to hear. Radha Paul was charming and taught Social Case Work with ease. They fell in love at MSSW and got married despite opposition from Radha Iyer's family. The Pauls were the best teachers. KNG taught Social Research . He seldom taught Research Methodology in a way that the students could understand.But his classes were most lively and all his examples were American. He was and is still a great admirer of Uncle Sam. When I became his professional colleague after some years, I used to hear his critics and admirers referring to him as CIA (Central Intelligence Agency ) Agent.
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